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Friday, May 30, 2014

PALAMABRON'S TASK

The controversy of the Bard's Song in Milton
originates with the desire of Satan to exchange his task at
the mill for Palamabron's task at the harrow. Blake uses three
sons of Los - Palamabron, Rintrah and Satan -
to demonstrate
three aspects of the prophetic character.Northrop Frye, in Fearful Symmetry, provides this insight
into the youngest son Satan:
"Satan, on the other hand, is the prince of this world: he is the
spirit of inertia which incarnates itself in compromise. The
worshipers of Satan accept established religions, philosophies,
and social conditions because they are established; they observe
all the commandments of the law from their youth upwards, and
their days are long and peaceful in the lands they possess. They,
therefore, are 'The Elect from before the foundation of the
World,' and their worldly prosperity is a sign of their inward
grace." (Page 333)

Library of CongressMilton
Copy D, Plate 18

So Satan's task is to create the structure of the conventional
mechanics which will keep the system operating. In the Freudian
psyche this function is performed by the ego; in Jungian
psychology it is performed by the function Reason. In much of
Blake's mythology Urizen is the agency of attempting to provide
this framework.

Palamabron whose role is to hold the prophetic vision has pity for
the flock he tries to nurture. His work is to teach, to encourage
and to bind up the wounds of the downtrodden. Frye states: "...the
business of the visionary [is] to proclaim the Word of God to a
society under the domination of Satan: and that the visionary's
social position is typically that of an isolated voice crying in
the wilderness against the injustice and hypocrisy of the society
from which he has sprung." (Page 336)

In the Bard's Song we have a blatant attempt of Satan to trade the
task of providing a structure in which the imagination may reside,
for the agency which feeds the imagination: vision. In the Bard's
Song it is Palamabron who is the visionary torn between the desire
to communicate his vision and the demands of society to conform to
the ordinary regulations of his culture. Palamabron agrees to
allow Satan to open himself to receiving and transmitting visions
from Eternity, but Satan has no faculty
for accessing the intuitive. Likewise Palamabron lacks the
organizational skills to keep society's machinery working.

Milton, Plate 4, (E 98)
"Satan was going to reply, but Los roll'd his loud thunders.
Anger me not! thou canst not drive the Harrow in pitys paths.
Thy Work is Eternal Death, with Mills & Ovens & Cauldrons.
Trouble me no more. thou canst not have Eternal Life
So Los spoke! Satan trembling obeyd weeping along the way."
Milton, Plate 7, (E 100)
"The first, The Elect from before the foundation of the World:
The second, The Redeem'd. The Third, The Reprobate & form'd
To destruction from the mothers womb: follow with me my plow!
Of the first class was Satan: with incomparable mildness;
His primitive tyrannical attempts on Los: with most endearing love
He soft intreated Los to give to him Palamabrons station;
For Palamabron returnd with labour wearied every evening
Palamabron oft refus'd; and as often Satan offer'd
His service till by repeated offers and repeated intreaties
Los gave to him the Harrow of the Almighty; alas blamable
Palamabron. fear'd to be angry lest Satan should accuse him of
Ingratitude, & Los believe the accusation thro Satans extreme
Mildness. Satan labour'd all day. it was a thousand years
In the evening returning terrified overlabourd & astonish'd
Embrac'd soft with a brothers tears Palamabron, who also wept
Mark well my words! they are of your eternal salvation
Next morning Palamabron rose: the horses of the Harrow
Were maddend with tormenting fury, & the servants of the Harrow
The Gnomes, accus'd Satan, with indignation fury and fire.
Then Palamabron reddening like the Moon in an eclipse,
Spoke saying, You know Satans mildness and his self-imposition,
Seeming a brother, being a tyrant, even thinking himself a brother
While he is murdering the just; prophetic I behold
His future course thro' darkness and despair to eternal death
But we must not be tyrants also! he hath assum'd my place
For one whole day, under pretence of pity and love to me:
My horses hath he maddend! and my fellow servants injur'd:
How should he[,] he[,] know the duties of another? O foolish forbearance
Would I had told Los, all my heart! but patience O my friends.
All may be well: silent remain, while I call Los and Satan."

Luke 10
[30] And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from
Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him
of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half
dead.
[31] And by chance there came down a certain priest
that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
[32] And likewise a Levite, when he was at the
place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
[33] But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came
where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
[34] And went to him, and bound up his wounds,
pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought
him to an inn, and took care of him.